> Patents and the entire field of IP law exists to give innovators and creators more incentives to take on risky or costly projects that ultimately provide valu

> Patents and the entire field of IP law exists to give innovators and creators more incentives to take on risky or costly projects that ultimately provide value. I don't think so, the purpose of the system was to make that knowledge open so society as a whole could benefit from it. Given innovators a monopoly was the price of buying that knowledge, otherwise they wouldn't give up their trade secrets.